


Tide

by realta_reatha



Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Dialogue Heavy, Episode: s02e07 The Scimitar (No. 22), Gen, Head Injury, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, Recovery, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24047425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realta_reatha/pseuds/realta_reatha
Summary: "There are no winners in this." Reddington returned genuinely "And believe me when I say that I would never wish this fate upon anyone, even you."OrThe Scimitar happened, only that Bethesda was real. Picks up a little while after that.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Tide

Raymond Reddington strode down a corridor, the beige carpet almost completely silencing his steps. _Even the ceiling is beige_ , he thought to himself _o_ _h dear, so little sense of_ _adventure._

He rounded a corner and came to a halt by a room with an open door. He was greeted by bright sunlight flooding in through the large window opposite the door and the silhouette of a man, casting a long shadow across the floor. The other man must have not heard him coming so he gently tapped his knuckles against the door frame.

Startled by the unexpected noise Resslers head whipped around and their gazes met. "Reddington?" he exclaimed after the first second of surprise had faded.

"Hello Donald." he answered, slight amusement coating his voice "it's been a while." He entered the room, Fedora in hand, looking as impeccable as ever.

"What are you doing here?" 

Resslers question remained unanswered as Reddington came to a halt next to him and gazed out of the window, admiring what he saw. Nothing but rolling hills covered in endless shades of green under the brightest blue sky mother nature had to offer. "What a spectacular view."

"Yeah" he agreed and suspiciously watched the other man wander over to the armchair across the room "li-little too good f-for-- government funds."

"I might have pulled a string here and there," Reddington said and sat down, casually crossing one leg over the other. His hat was placed on the windowsill and he leaned back in the chair "I wish I wouldn't have had to but here we are."

"Why are you here?"

"Ah, I've missed your dry persistence." he chuckled and paused for a rhetorical second "Would it be such a surprise to you Donald if I said to see how you are doing?"

"A bit." he admitted "You won a-after a-all. I'm out." intentionally cutting his phrase short.

"There are no winners in this." Reddington returned genuinely "And believe me when I say that I would never wish this fate upon anyone, even you."

Ressler didn't know what to say, hands wrung together tightly on his lap he tried to figure out why Reddingtons words hat hit deeper than he liked to admit.

"I dropped by not long after that terrible accident. Had a lovely chat with your mother." He broke the building silence after a couple of moments "You were still a rather pitiful sight and she was very grateful for a little company and light conversation over some admittedly terrible tea."

"You're unbelievable." the word rolled off his tongue so easily he barely even noticed.

"Don't look at me like I stepped on your tail," Reddington said, clearly amused by Resslers glare "of course she didn't meet me but our dear friend Kenneth. I'm surprised she hasn't mentioned it."

"N-no, no I don't think she has." he answered, briefly averting his gaze and once again internally cursed his failing articulation.

_"Oh, I didn't expect anyone to be here at this hour." Reddington said genuinely and took off his hat "I don't believe we have met?"_

_"No, we haven't." she got up from the chair only to wonder why she had gotten up in the first place, instead she took a step towards him and extended a hand "Lisa Ressler."_

_"Kenneth Rathers, it's a pleasure to meet you." he shook the offered hand and she returned a nod with a small smile._

_Silence fell between them and for the first time since entering the room his gaze landed on the actual reason for his visit. He'd seen people in much worse shapes, caused by the hands of his associates or the ones of his countless rivals and no matter how often he'd cursed the agent for his ever-by-the-book attitude, seeing him like this left a cold knot in his throat. There was something terribly inhuman about the situation, seeing Ressler completely motionless, stripped down to most basic functions and left bare crawled under his skin and left an uncomfortable itch._

_Forcing his gaze away he cleared his throat but couldn't keep the slight waver from his voice "How is he doing?"_

_She shrugged helplessly "I don't know, all they say is that we have to wait until he wakes up...if..." she let out a long breath and pressed her lips together briefly before she found her voice again "Are you with the FBI as well?"_

_"By association." came the smooth reply "Lisa I don't know about you but I could use something warming right now. I'm sure the cafeteria has a magnificent selection of tea." he suggested and added an inviting smile, fully back to his well constructed facade "Would you like to join me for a cup or two?"_

_She hesitated for a moment, briefly looked at her still unconscious son before returning her gaze to Reddington with a watery smile "Why not."_

Reddington, sensing the other mans discomfort changed the subject "I hear they're sending you home in a couple of days."

Deciding that he didn't even want to know where he'd 'heard' that Ressler simply nodded, not trusting his voice enough for an actual answer.

"Any plans?"

"N-not--" he let out a frustrated sigh "Not really."

Reddington intently watched the other mans posture becoming progressively more passive. Ressler had shed quite a few pounds of muscle over the course of these past months and along with the slightly shaggy haircut, most likely intended to hide the scar running over the side of his head, created a strangely boyish look. 

"There's no shame in taking some time."

"Don't really h-have a choice-,do I?"

This time, Reddington couldn't cover the concern in his gaze. 

He didn't stay much longer after that, the sun was beginning to set and he had business to take care of. Just when he was about to put on his hat Ressler spoke again. 

"Thank you. For the view."

Reddington smiled and put his hat on "Anytime Donald."

Later, long after it had gone dark, Ressler noticed the plain white envelope on the windowsill right where the Fedora had been. The matching white card inside only read a couple of digits which he recognised as GPS coordinates and 'Dembe knows what to do with these' in the bottom left corner. Frowning, he turned the card around.

_Take the house._

_Rest._

_Become yourself again._

_-RR_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this made sense.  
> I'm planning on another chapter or two, we'll see.  
> Leave a little something if you liked it:)


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